"A [preacher] who does not love art, poetry, music and nature can be dangerous. Blindness and deafness toward the beautiful are not incidental; they are necessarily reflected in his [preaching]." — BXVI

27 March 2012

Blog-begging for our OP novices and students. . .

I haven't done any blog-begging in quite a while, so here goes: The Province of St. Martin de Porres is in the midst of its annual 1216 Campaign. . .

This is our major fundraising (i.e., mendicant, begging) event of the year. Since Katrina our fundraising base here in the Nawlins' area has diminished considerably, so we are reaching out well beyond the local church.

The money we raise during the 1216 Campaign provides a huge portion of what we need to form our novices in Irving, TX and educate our students in St. Louis.

Since 1980, our OP students have been attending Aquinas Institute in St. Louis. This is a collaborative studium with the Province of St. Albert the Great (Chicago). Our students have been living in Jesuit Hall (!) on the campus of St. Louis University.

In December of 2011, this living arrangement changed rather dramatically. Our students moved into their own place. We renovated a convent nearby and gave our students a place of their own.

You can see the new St Dominic Priory here. The student brothers no longer pray in the basement of Jesuit Hall! The young friars are particularly excited about the new choir stalls installed just a few days ago.

Formation costs for the novitiate and studium eat up a large portion of our annual budget. So, we need help! We need your help.

If we are to provide the Church in the 21st century will well-educated, faithful, dynamic preachers, we need the support of those who have benefited from the preaching ministry of the Order.

If you have benefited from our ministry or long to see Catholic preaching and teaching thrive, please donate to our campaign.